


The Story of Us

by thereader2929



Category: Carol (2015), the price of salt
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-05-30 10:09:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6419623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thereader2929/pseuds/thereader2929
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The process of finally being together for Carol Aird and Therese Belivet</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"That....oh Carol, that feels.....that'll leave.....a very......nasty mark in the morning." Therese was panting and gasping for air as Carol's lips continued to suck hard on the side of the younger woman's neck just below the jawline. 

In the next few moments, Carol brought her to yet another climax and they collapsed onto the king sized bed, their limbs tangled together.

They lay facing each other feeling nothing but completeness.

 

FIVE MONTHS AGO

"I'll have to inform Mrs. Hensdale. I don't remember what the lease agreement stipulates but I'll let her know first thing tomorrow," said Therese without making eye contact with Carol.

"Therese, you do know you don't have to worry about paying for any penalty due to the breach of contract. I'll take care of it."  
Therese gave a quick nod and headed for the door.

"I'll walk you out but you'll call me the moment you get home? I mean it's late...I just need to know you're safe," said Carol, her voice slightly quivering with uncertainty.

"Of course."

Surprisingly they didn't have to wait in the cold for too long when a taxi slowly turned into the corner of Madison. Carol stepped out onto the street and hailed it over. 

She reluctantly gave Therese a hug and ushered the younger woman into the cab.

As the vehicle gradually disappeared from her sight, her heart felt as empty as the streets of New York at that time of the night, and she was left to wonder if this hollow feeling was going to be the norm every time she had to part with Therese. But she knew, deep within her, she knew Therese was worth it. Worth the agony. Worth the wait. Worth treading into the unknown for.

In the backseat of the cab, Therese felt relieved after all the tension that had built up since the afternoon meeting with Carol at the Ritz Tower. For it was now clear to her, all that she had endured, and all the answers she had been trying to put together all those months ago. All those months of sleepless nights, of tears during the most inopportune times, of not eating properly, of not doing anything right, were all worth it. Because Carol was worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

As Therese stood in the middle of the tiny living room surrounded by cardboard boxes, each neatly labeled with her own handwriting, her emotions were unexpectedly met with a tinge of poignance about leaving behind this place that she had regarded home for the past year. Never mind the ugly paint falling off the walls or the leaking faucet in the kitchen or even the annoying door handle that she often had to wrestle with in order to get the door properly shut and locked. Or perhaps, beyond all these, it was the living alone that she would dearly miss. But then, she would have Carol. She would be living with Carol. Carol, who would make sure that Therese would be too occupied to even steal a moment to miss any part of her old life. 

Her thoughts were abruptly halted when the loud buzzer by the door went off. It was promptly followed by several rude knocks and a grumpy voice hollered, "Miss Belivet! Open the door!"

As if fleeing an emergency, Therese ran toward the door and opened it in one swift motion only to reveal an expressionless Mrs. Hensdale and a young woman who appeared to be only slightly older than Therese herself. 

"Well, seeing that you've given me such a short notice, I've asked my niece to move in until she could find a more permanent dwelling," said Mrs. Hensdale as she led the young woman into the apartment. "Celine, feel free to look around and let me know if you need more furniture or anything." With that, she wobbled out the door and left the two women alone. 

It was Celine who initiated the conversation. "I'm Celine Pratt. I just moved here from Pennsylvania," said Celine cheerfully, holding out her right hand for a handshake. 

"Therese. Therese Belivet. Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise. So, are you leaving the city or moving into a more decent looking place?" Celine asked with a tiny chuckle as her eyes gave the surrounding a once-over and her hand twirling in midair. 

"Oh, I'm... I'm actually going to be sharing a place with a friend," replied Therese, painfully aware of how she emphasized the word 'friend'. 

"I see. And I'll be living here until I'm sick of my job at the New York Times," sighed Celine. 

Therese's eyes widened and she eagerly chimed in, "I work at the Times! How come I've never seen you anywhere before?"

Celine let out a quiet laugh and explained, "Well they just decided they wanted me right after I finished business school at U Penn. I'll be on their sales team. What do you do there?"

Therese wrinkled her nose and answered, "At the moment, I'm still a struggling assistant junior photo editor finding my bearing in the big bad world of journalism."

"Well, I'm sure a smart and sweet little thing like you can find anything anywhere without much problem," said Celine with a playful wink and an upward curve of her mouth. 

Therese immediately felt heat rushing to her cheeks and she remained silent with an inward smile. 

Although Therese was standing several feet away from Celine, she could almost swear that Celine had the most crystal clear blue eyes she had come in contact with. They were so blue and clear that one could soothe all their trouble away by just staring at them for as long as one needed, much like admiring a work of art at the museum. A work of art that one could spend a lifetime appreciating and never get tired of. The clarity of the blueness, so calming and dizzying at the same instant, seemed to spell out that this shade of eyes could only belong to someone unabashed, audacious and extroverted. All the characteristics that were never Therese's but were what Therese had always admired. 

It was then that it hit her. 

Was she being unfaithful to Carol? Was finding another woman's eyes intriguing a form of disloyalty to the woman she loved? She shook off the commotion in her head and looked up to find the said pair of blue orbs staring back at her. 

Before Therese could command her voice to return, Celine took a few bold steps closer and almost inaudibly, she asked, "Is there a number I can call to get in touch with you?" And as if in a hypnotized state, Therese legibly wrote down Carol's number on the back of Celine's left hand hand.


	3. Chapter 3

She stormed through the heavy, hostile door, strode past Jimmy the doorman, and darted across the lobby for the elevator.

"Miss! Miss! Do you..."

The elevator doors had shut tight just as Therese's hands had clenched tightly into a fist. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirrored wall of the enclosed space. She had to quickly look away for there was too much contempt staring back at her.

The elevator dinged signaling she had reached the 8th floor.

8B Aird, glaring at her from just below the peephole of the grayish white wooden door. Therese pressed the buzzer without lifting her finger. The sound was so offending and deafening, her ears hurt.

A moment later, the door opened and Therese hurled herself into Carol, backing the older woman to the wall of the dimly lit foyer. She grabbed the back of Carol's head with both hands and pulled Carol toward her. She kissed and kissed and kissed Carol, not passionately, but sloppily, forcefully and furiously. She was furious with herself. Furious because she had found someone else attractive. Someone other than Carol. Furious at how undisciplined she had allowed herself to become. She was furious with Carol. Furious with Carol who vanished all those months ago, who refused to answer her phone calls, and shattered her belief in true love. Furious with Abby who doubted her genuine feelings for Carol. Furious with Harge who put Carol in that predicament. Furious was all that she felt toward everything. Furious was the only feeling left in her.

Carol remained motionless yielding to whatever Therese was doing to her. She accepted Therese's passionless, sloppy, forceful, furious kisses on her mouth and she kept her eyes closed. She loved her too much to make her stop. She simply loved her too much. Even when she sensed a metallic taste on her own lips, even then, she did not stop Therese.

As her fury tamed itself, Therese, so emotionally depleted, physically drained, pursed her lips. Her breathing hitched when she realized she had been injured or had injured someone. She blinked before pulling away, suddenly aware that she was with Carol. Carol was right there. And Carol was the object she had been inflicting pain on. She had taken out her fury on the woman she loved and it was now too late. Tears were trickling down Carol's pale face and for Therese, that was the most heartbreaking sight.

"I..." She was not able to continue. So she salvaged what she could still salvage. She brought the side of her face to Carol's cheek and removed the tears, gently brushing her cheek against Carol's cheek. "I'm sorry....I'm sorry......sorry." And all those tears that had, up until then, been denied an outlet, fell. They fell and they fell. Therese, the distressed griever, and Carol, her wailing wall.

"It's alright. It's okay. Shh....shh." Carol gripped Therese's small waist with one hand and made soothing circular movements on Therese's back with the other. Whatever the reason that made the younger woman so distraught, it could wait. Carol could and would willingly wait because for now, she only wanted Therese to be, to just be.

* * *

 

"Taxi!" A cab pulled up to the front porch of the apartment building. Jimmy was assisting an elderly man into the vehicle when someone brushed past him from the side, nearly shoving him off balance. The person disappeared behind the door, and into the lobby.

"Christ! What is it with people today?" Jimmy muttered to himself. He took several large strides toward the lobby entrance.

"Hey! Stop right there!" But there was no one. The elevator had ascended with the floor indicator showing 2, then 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. It stopped at 8.


End file.
